Article-forming apparatus



Get. 16, 1928.

ARTICLE FORMING APPARATUS ray/ 1 0 5 4. a 5 V/ w Mw W s w SQNMJ Filed Nov 50 1926 Oct. 16, 1928.

ARTICLE FORMING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 30, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 30, 1926 4 6 3 fl w w 7 5 ,0 fl r 5 w & 1: WT 3 MW 4 1. 6 r x & M .l w z L i a Z L w v H0 9 7 2 z M w a6 5 W W Oct. 16, 1928.

Patented Oct. 16, .1928,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST STANLEY L188, 01 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A SSIGNOR TO WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INGORPORATED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 01 NEW YORK.

ARTICLE-FORMING APPARATUS.

Appiieationflled November 30; 1926. serial 80. 151343.

i sometimes soldered upon the ends of the conductors after a part of the insulation has been removed, but in some instances a socalled solderlessi'tip is employed which comprises a unitary metallic article which is designed to be pressed around a conductor cord to effect an electrical contact with the conductor through prongs which pierce the insu-' lation. Such an article possesses the outstanding advantage of being readily and accurately pressed around a conductor cord with little manual effort and produces a cord tip which is extremely satisfactory from both an electrical and mechanical standpoint.

It is essential that the contact prongs on solderless tips be accurately centered and substantially vertical in order that the prongs will enter the cord radially when the tip is pressed thereon and thereby effecta good electrical contact with the conductor. Otherwise the prongs on the tip may be deflected so as to miss the conductor entirely or to make an unsatisfactory electrical connection.

It is the object'of the present invention to provide an apparatus for rapidly and accurately forming articles.

opening produced in the strip by the above operation. The strip carrying the blank is then fed to a forming position wherein split fingers grip the projecting prongs on the blank to maintain the blank'accurately centered during a forming operation in which In carrying out the object of the invention,

' theblank .is formed into a shape which renders the tip capable of being readily attached to a conductor cord in such a manner that the prongs on the tip are certain to satisfactorily contact with the conducting portion-of the cord.

This invention will be clearly understood from the following detailed description taken n.con unct1on with the accompanying draw. ings, m which Fig. 1 is a fra mentary front elevation of an apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 1s an enlarged, detail, perspective vlew of a blank produced in one step of the operation of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of a solderless cord tip produced in the apparatus;

Fig 4 is a similar view illustratin the cord tip pressed around a conductor cord;

F g. 5 1s an enlarged, transverse, vertical section of a portion of'the apparatus showing the parts in advanced or operative posilon;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan view illustrating a the forming a part of the apparatus.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional Fig.6;

tional view taken substantially on line 10-10 of Fig. 6showing a portion of the apparatus in advanced or operative position.

The accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts throughout the several views. illustrate an embodiment of the invention which is designed to form solderless cord-tips. In this embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated generally by Fig. 1, there is provided a punch press 11 having a base 12 of any suitable tvpe upon which is mounted a. bed 13 and uprights 1414, which uprights support and guide a reciprocating ram 15 which is operated in the usual manner by a crank16 formed on a shaft 17, a fly wheel 18 secured upon the shaft 17 insuring-regularity of operation.-

Fig. 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view illustrating a part of a split punch compris ng one of the members of the Mounted upon the bed 13 is a material feeding device 20 operated from the shaft 17 through a series of cranks and connectin rods for intermittently advancing a strip material 21 through the' apparatus. The material feeding device m ay be of any suitable type, the device disclosed in the copen ding application, Serial No. 151,816, filed November 30, 1926, by-A. B. Smith, being a .very satisfactory type.

Mounted in any suitable manner upon the I bed 13 is a bed plate 25 to which is secured a die 27 (Figs.

5 6, 7 and 9) by means of bolts 26-26. The die 27 is provided with a plurality of blanking openings 28-28 having a cross-sectional contour, as seen in Fig. 6, correspdnding to that desired in the edge of the finished article, in which openings are inserted plungers 30-30 having a contour corresponding to that of the openings. The plungers 30-30 are provided on their lower ends with heads 31-31 which fit into pockets 32-32 in the bed plate 25 and which rest upon pins 3434 which pass through corresponding openings 35-35 in the bed plate 25 and in turn rest upon a yieldable plate. 36

' (Figs. 7 and 9) provided beneath the bed plate 25. Bolts 37-37 pass through openings in the plate 36 and are threaded into corresponding openings in the bed plate 25. Coil springs 38-38 surround the bolts 37-37 between the plate 36 and a similar plate 39 which is slipped upon the bolts 37-37 and adjustably secured thereon by means of nuts 40-40 and 41-41. The plungers 30-30 are thus forced upward and maintained in their normal position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 9, by the force of the springs 38-38, it being possible to vary the compression of the springs by means of the nuts 40-40 and 4141.

Projecting through openings in each of the plum ers 30-30 are a plurality of small triangu ar punches 42-42 (Figs. 9 and 10) for forming upstanding prongs on blanks forced through the openings 28-28, which punches are secured between collars 43-43 and set screws 44-44 and 45-45 threaded into sockets provided in the bed plate 25.

The die 27 is also provided with openings 46-46, one side of which has a contour, as viewedin Fig. 6, conforming to that of one end of the blanks produced in the openings 28-28 and in the other side of which are located inserts 47-47 of a hard material, such as hardened steel, having forming openings 48-48 therein, which openings and inserts are provided to furnish a part of a means for forming one end of the blanks produced in the openings 28-28. The lower ends of the openings 48-48 are enlarged to provide shoulders 49-49 and these openin coincide with openings 50-50 in the be plate 25 which permit the completed articles to fall through the apparatus and be collected below. Guides 51-51 having recesses 52-52 adjacent the openings in the die 27 are secured to the die by means of bolts 53-53 for the purpose of guiding the strip of material 21 past the openings in the die. i

A pimch-holding block 54 is secured in any suitable manner upon the lower end of the ram 15, and secured to the block 54 by means of bolts 57-57 are a plurality of punches -55 (Figs. 5, 6 and 9) which re ister with the openings 28-28 in the die 2%,

which punches have a cross-sectional contour 59-59, the upper ends of which are enlarged to form depressions 60-60. In the openings 59-59 are inserted .split punches 61-61,

each of which comprises two op ositely disposed, similarly sha ed punc members 62-62 and 63-63, w ich punch members register with the openings 48-48 in the die 27. Since the punch members 6262 and 63-63 are similar in shape, it will suflice to describe the construction of only one of them. Each of these punch members comprises an elongated central cylindrical portion having a longitudinal groove 64 formed along the inner side, and upon the upper end of the member is formed a flange 65 which rests upon the bottom of one of the de ressions 60-60. The lower. ends 66 of eac of the punch members is provided with a depression 67 for the reception of the prongs on the articles formed in the openings 28-28 and is reduced in size to provide a forming member registering withthe o enings 49-49 in the' inserts 48-48 located in the die 27.

Inserted within openings 70-70 within the block 54 are a lurality of plun ers 71- 71 which are forced into contact wit the upper ends 65 of the punch members 62-62 and 63-63 by means of coil springs 72-72 which press at their upper ends a ainst adjustable screw plugs 73-73 screwe into the openings 7 0-70. The. plungers 71-71 tend to rotate the punch members 62-62 and 63-63 about the inner edge of the depressions 60- 60 as fulcrums into their normal or spread osition, as shown in Fi 7, the maximum displacement, of themem ers bein reached when they contact with the tapered sides of the openings 58-58.

A stripper plate 75, having central openings into whlch the punches 55-55 and 61-61protrude, is yieldingly secured to the block 54 by. means of bolts 76-76 passin through openings 77-77 in the block 54, an coil springs 78-78 surrounding the bolts 7 6-76 and pressing against nuts 79-79 on Inn the bolts 7 6-76 and against the uper sides of depres'sions-80-80 formed int e end of a the block 54 -coaxially with the openings 77-77, and also by means of a; spring pressed plunger 82 operating in a central opening 83 in the ram 15 and secured at its lower end to the stripper plate. 7 5. A depending portion 81 is formed upon the lower. side'of the stripper plate 7 5, which-portion is'located directly above the space between the guides -50 and the die 27 and which has an outline corresponding to the contour of that space. The stripper plate-75 is guided in its motion by posts 85-85 secured in the bed.

plate 25 which register with openings 86-86 in the stripper plate 75, while the ram 15 is guided by large posts 87-87 also secured in the bed plate 25 and which protrude into guiding sleeves 88-88 secured in the block 54.

It is beli eved that the operation of the apparatus will be evident-from theabove description ofthe several parts and the following detailed description of its operation:

W'l1ile the members are in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 9, the strip of material 21 is inserted into the feeding device 20 and into position over the openings 28-28 in the die 27. Power is then applied to the shaft 17 in any suitable manner when the ram 15 will be caused to reciprocate in a vertical path and the material feeding mechanism 20 will be operated to intermittently advance the material past the openings 28-28 and 48-48 in the die 27 On the first downward movementof the ram 15, the depending portion 81 on the stripper plate 75 will enterthe space between the guides 50-50 until it comes into contact with the'strip of material 21, when its downward motion will be'stopped and it will serve, through the action of the springs 78-78, to grip the material tightly against the die 27. The punches -55 will continue their downward movement to cooperate with the openings 28-28 in the die 27 to sever blanks 90-90 of the shape shown in Fig. 2, from the strip of material 21 and will enter the openings 28-28, the small triangular punches 42-42 (Fig. 10) simultaneously forming prongs 91-91 (Fig. 2) on the blanks. As 1s shown in Fig. 2, the blanks 90-90 produced in this operation are forkshaped at one end and have lateral winglike portions 92-92 extending from the other end.

In this blanking movement, the plungers 30-30 will be forced downward in the position shown in Fig. 5 against the force of the springs 38-38 and upon the upward move--' ment of the ram will be pressed into the position shown in Fig. 6, and by this upward movementwill return the blanks 90-90 to the resulting openings in the'strip of material 21, the stripper plate holding the material in placeuntil this action has taken lace. The material feeding device is so adusted that it will advance the strip of material a step as soon as the blanks, are returned to the openings therein by the plungers 30-30. I

By the successive. actions of the feeding mechanism- 20, the stripof material 21 carrymg the blanks 90-90 is advanced to position i the blanks directly above the openings 46-46 in the die 27 and the openings 48-48 in the inserts 47-47. Upon a succeeding downward motion of the ram 15 the lower ends 66-66-of the split punches 61-61 engage the blanks 90-90, the prongs 91-91 on I the blanks entering the depressions 67-67 in the punch members. Upon entering the openings 48-48 in the inserts 47-47, the ends 66-66 of the punch members are forced together, thereby firmly gripping the prongs 91-91 on the blanks 90-90 to accurately center the blanks while they are being forcedthrou hthe forming openings in the inserts. In the orm- 'ing operation, the forked-shaped ends of blanks 90-90 pass through the unfilled ends ofthe openings 46-46 in the die 27, while the opposite ends of the blanks are forced through the forming openings 48-48 in the inserts 47-47 wherein the wing portions 92-92 of the blanks are turned upwardly in the. position shown in Fig. 3. After being forced through the forming openings, the turned up wings 92-92 tend to spring outwardly and contact with the shoulders 49-49 formed in the openings 48-48 so that when the punch members 61-61 move upwardly the articles are stripped from the punch members and fall through the openings 50-50 to the bottom of the apparatus, where they ma be collected in a suitable receptacle.

It is believed that it is evident from the foregoing description that an article of the type illustrated in Fig.3 may be rapidly and accurately pressed around a conductor cord in the manner shown in Fig. 4 to act as a terminal for such a cord and that this invention provides an apparatus by means of which articles of thistype may be rapidly and accurately formed. I

It is, of course, to be understood that the above embodiment of the invention is illus-- split punch operable after the conveying v means has advanced the strip and blank for gripgung the prongs to center the blank and or orclng the blank through the die.

2'. In an article forming apparatus, means for ,forming prongs upon a piece of material means for conveying the piece of material into another position in the apparatus, a die, and a punch for gripping the prongs to accurately position the iece of material with respect to the die an for forcing it there through to form the piece of material intoa completed article.

3. An article forming apparatus comprising a die, means for intermittently advancing material past the die, and a split punch designed to engage portions of the material to position the material and force it through the die.

4. In an article forming ap aratus, a die and a punch comprising simi ar oppositely disposed punch members provided with recesses to receive and grip raised portions on material to be formed for centering the material and forcin it through the die.

5. In an artic e forming apparatus, a die having a forming opening therein, a ram, means for reciprocating the ram, a punch secured to the ram opposlte the opening in the die comprising'simllar o positely disposed punch members provide with recesses in one end to receive raised portions on material to be formed, and means tending to maintain the recessed ends of the punch members separated, whereby when the ram is reciprocated thesides of the recesses grip the raised portions on the material to center the mate- 81, and the material is forced through the 6. In an article forming apparatus, a die having an opening therein, a, reciprocating ram, a punch secured to the ram opposite the opening inthe die comprising similar 0 positely disposed punch members provided with reduced, recessed punching ends and flanged retaining ends,.a plunger secured in mauve ,against' the flanged endsofthe punc the ram, and means 'for' forcing the punger members'to cause a separation of the reduced, re-

.cessed ends thereof.

7. In an article forming apparatus, a die having a formingopening therein, a reciproeating ram having a pocket therein, a plunger mserted in the ,pocket, a punch comprising similar oppositely disposed punch means for forcing the plunger against the punch members to cause a separation of the recessed ends, whereby when the ram is reciprocated the punch members enter the opening in the die, are forced together thereby to cause the members to grip and center the material, and the material is forced through the opening and'formed into a completed article.

8. In an article forming apparatus, means for forming a projecting element. upon a piece of material, a. die, means for conve ing the thus formed piece of material in a ignment with the die, and a cooperating punch arranged to grip the projecting element to accurately position the piece of material with respect to the die and for forcing it therethrough to form the pieceof material into a completed article.

9. In an article forming apparatus, means for forming a projecting element upon a piece of material, a die, means for conveying the thus formed piece of material in alignment with the die, a compressible punch, means efiective upon the operation of the punch for causing it to grip the projecting element to accurately position the piece of material with respect to the die and for forcing it therethrough to form the piece of material into a completed article.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 20th day of Nov., A. D. 1926. AUGUST STANLEY LISS. 

